It is normally perceived that eco-friendliness comes at a price. An organic farmer has to invest time and effort into solutions to replace quick-and-easy fixes; an upper-middle class conscious consumer scratches her head in the supermarket, to select the cheapest product from the pricey eco-products; a small business man thinks twice before switching to a renewable source of energy.

We all know how important and meaningful Earth Hour is in some countries. A worldwide event organized by World Wide Fund for Nature, this year was to be conducted from 8.30 to 9.30 p.m yesterday. With the depletion and disastrous impact on nature and resources, such events help bring together people and promote awareness.

As I think of what I want to say about the drought that the Marathwada region of Maharashtra is experiencing right now, I draw a blank. Generally, I’ve always got an opinion about something, but in times like these, what can be said that hasn’t already been said?

According to a study by a US-based health institute, Air pollution is now the fifth largest killer in India, taking 6.2 lakh lives per year. And Delhi is among one of the five most polluted cities in the country.The other four most polluted cities in the country are Ghaziabad, Gwalior, West Singbhum district in Jharkhand and Raipur. The study has claimed that premature deaths in India occur due to air pollution-related diseases, which has seen a six-fold increase as compared to that in the year 2000.

The lyrics of Eurythmics’ brilliant track were pumping through my earphones as I sat behind Sanjay (an employee of TERI’s local partner organization in Uttar Pradesh) on his vintage Hero motorbike, heading to a tiny village on the border of India and Nepal to conduct a photo shoot.

Live like it is your last day on earth. This is not a nice, light-hearted line meant to cheer you up. It is dead serious. While we are sitting here, all fit and rested, zombies might be preparing to rise from the graves. There might be a pressure building underground, between the tectonic plates. Nature might be planning another earthquake, or a tsunami.

Water is a basic and chief resource. Therefore, even after possessing the most simplistic qualities (pure water has no particular taste and color of its own), its importance is tremendous. A country might produce any number of commercial and high value crops, but its requirement for food crops like wheat, rice or other grains cannot die out.

In the last couple of years, there have been numerous reports and news stories of “leopard scares” in and around the forests of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai. Leopards have intruded upon the residents of Royal Palms and their children are now afraid to move out alone. Forest officials have constantly tried to pacify residents by making them understand that they are living near a forest; they have to be more tolerant of the wildlife in the area because after all, it is their home too.

“Say Trees” with Kapil Sharma A software engineer by profession, his heart belongs to the environment. Kapil Sharma, one of [...]

Another necessary evil that we can’t think of living without. While the world revelled in its practicality and myriad forms, it kept growing by leaps and bounds. No one could stop himself from gaping at its amazing qualities. The dark, rather, stark side of the story, kept its profile low and blossomed only at the junction when it hurt the most. Acknowledging the scourge attached to it, we have shown willingness to avail it. Such is the aura of this entity.